Rodelin Anthony recently attended the 2008 National Student-Athlete Development Conference.

June 20, 2008

LAS VEGAS -
UNLV junior wide receiver Rodelin Anthony (Immokalee, FL) recently attended the 2008 National Student-Athlete Development Conference, which took place last month at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando.

Anthony spent three days at the conference with close to 350 other student-athletes on May 27-29, attending workshops, listening to speakers and working on real-life situations in small groups. The goal of the conference was to help the student-athletes develop their leadership skills for use in school, on the playing field and after they graduate.

"It was very enlightening and it really opened you up to the type of leader you are," Anthony said. "I got to meet a lot of different student-athletes from across the country and learn a lot of valuable skills."

The conference was conducted in two sessions, the first on May 25-27 and the second was May 27-29. Student-athletes from the America-Israel Friendship League also participated in the activities at this year's conference and over the past 12 years, the conference has hosted more than 3,500 student-athletes and trained more than 300 athletic facilitators.

Student-athletes discussed a variety of topics, such as game environment, gender equity, religion in sport, social networking, EKG testing, mental health and nutrition. They also discussed division-specific issues, created dialogue surrounding possible solutions to division-specific issues and discussed potential career direction. In addition to the speaker and discussion sessions, the student-athletes participated in the conference's first student-athlete expo where media, non-profit and service organizations discussed volunteer, career and personal development opportunities.

In order to be eligible for the conference, the student-athletes must have adhered to the following requirements:

- Be in good academic standing,
- Have athletics eligibility remaining in the following academic year,
- Must be returning to campus for the following academic year,
- Must participate in a NCAA-sponsored sport during the current academic year,
- Must demonstrate a desire or the ability to lead, and
- Is expected to participate in all conference activities.

A selection committee chaired by Collin Crick, CHAMPS/Life Skills coordinator at the University of South Carolina, reviewed the nominations to determine the final selections. This year the committee selected student-athletes from all three divisions, which includes a balanced breakdown by gender and race.